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Education spurs innovation

The author says we must equip our next generation with the tools to fuel the modern economy. |
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By WENDY HAWKINS | 12/7/10 4:32 AM EST

The new “basic” level of understanding required of all students today is significantly higher than in the past. They must understand math and science at levels that allow them to participate fully in the 21st century.

This means knowing how to use technology – an ever-more ubiquitous tool in every kind of work environment – effectively. Students must be scientifically and mathematically literate to understand the news of the day and how to budget for their families. They need to be able to manage their own health care effectively. They need to be able to understand crucial topics, like global warming and alternative energy.

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Yet, it’s a bitter truth: The United States, which once produced the world’s best students in math, science and engineering, is falling behind.

The best practices that fueled America’s innovation economy — and made us the leader worldwide — have now been adopted by other countries. Chief among these is investing in education.

After all, for any country to grasp the potential breakthroughs just over the horizon – cleaner more sustainable energy solutions, advances in nanotechnology, significant medical developments – it must have a reliable pipeline of highly educated, highly skilled individuals. Unfortunately for the United States, other nations are outpacing us.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan today is set to reveal how American students compare to the rest of the world, unveiling the 2009 test scores from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) at “Education for Innovation,” a digital town-hall discussion about the key role education plays in developing entrepreneurs, sponsored by Intel.

PISA, an international evaluation of 15 year olds, is the most comprehensive international study of student performance. It measures reading, mathematics and science levels in 64 countries and economies.

If past PISA scores are any indication, U.S. students are likely to have continued their struggles in comparison to other countries. Fortunately, we can do something about this. As a nation, we can launch an unprecedented effort to invest in science and mathematics education that ensures that all students get a basic level of understanding in science and math. This will equip our next generation with the tools necessary to fuel the modern economy.

It also keeps the door open for students to decide if they have the passion to pursue careers in technology, science and entrepreneurship — even if they don’t realize this until they’re in high school, or even college. The most talented math and science students should have every opportunity to push the boundaries of learning — to do authentic research and learn science in a hands-on, engaging environment that challenges and inspires them.

Education in our country has lost it's usefulness due to a lack of money to keep good schools going. Sure, math and science are important but reading and writing are necessary to be able to learn anything. The schools all over the country are underfunded by millions.Public Grade Schools are shutting down due to unattainable funds. Teachers are among the unemployed because their schools budgets can't sustain them. Our kids need books to learn their ABCs and math skills. The only schools available are for the upper class who can provide funding for these private schools in our country. Bush's tax cuts and unfunded programs like "no child left behind" have left our states with no middle class. Our country has been failing our children for a good ten years. Why should this surprise anyone?

Most bureaucratic organizations are run on the principle of maximizing their budget. This is also true of our school systems, and always will be. When you have a school district you need a competent bureaucrat to run it. Among the universe of competent bureaucrats, you will search in vain to find one who does not set policies to maximize their budget. Competent bureaucrats seek the largest possible budget, with the largest possible staffing with the same regularity that water runs downhill and eggs are generally round. This is the premise of my views about improving education.

Our current system pays for body count to the exclusion of all other factors. The invisible hand of thousands of competent bureaucrats will develop a system that creates the largest possible body count with the same inexorable force that causes water to run downhill.

Our current system has resulted in police substations in most of our high schools, and a culture of keeping the FFA (Future Felons of America) in the class room at the expense of learning or even the physical safety of our children. This horrible result is currently justified under the Jingoism of Multiculturalism.

This doesn’t happen because competent bureaucrats are bad people, it happens because water runs downhill. That is just the way things are. You can quibble about intentions and motives, but the fact remains that the current system has produced exactly the result predicted by the above premise. My premise is the only one proved consistent with the observed results. That should count for something.

The solution is, of course, vouchers including private schools. Force the school district’s administrator to seek the maximum budget by seeking the approbation of the parents, instead of maximum body count. Over time, the egg will stay round, and the education of our children will improve.

I will be happy to debate the details with anybody who can do so without calling me bad names :-)

A college diploma today is equivalent to a high school diploma 50 years ago. So I guess everybody must go to college just to receive an adequate education. I have been in the position of hiring recent college grads and I must say that it's shocking how little most of them know. We need to address these problems ASAP or we will be even less competitive in the world market than we presently are.

American officials at international meetings are now openly mocked and ridiculed by other delegations. Yes, some old-fashinoned tribalism at work, but the overall perception now in most of the world is that the US is in decline and therefore becoming a joke.

However, American pop culture still dominates the international scene. This important fact and a couple of bucks will buy you a cup of coffee.

Wendy, you are right that we need to put more money into education. Successful countries, like Finland, put their money where their mouth is. They not only fund education, but treat their teachers like the professionals that they are.

Bashing teachers and teachers' union won't solve the problem. Including teachers in educational decisions will help. Getting politicians out of educational decisions will help. Placing a high value on education and not distrusting intellectuals will help.

Americans want to have their cake and eat it, too. They want their children to be "educated", yet vote down money for education. Right now Americans are criticizing teachers and expecting teachers to teach without adequate materials and facilities. WAKE UP AMERICA! What can you do to help? Don't know? Here are a few suggestions:

thank a teacher, encourage him/her in their difficult job volunteer one day a week at a local public school donate new books to a local school library support millage increases for schools shadow a teacher for one day to see what they actually do everyday donate money to a school of your choice quit complaining - be a part of the solution

FYI In the state of Michigan, individuals must do the following to teach:

obtain a 4 year degree in an approved college of education successfully student teach for 1 full year, no pay pass state mandated qualifying tests (in math, reading, writing, specific subjects) apply for a provisional teaching certificate, at teacher's expense be on probation for 4 years once hired; may be let go at will during this time within 6 years must take 18 grad credits at an approved college and successfully teach for 3 years; grad classes paid for by teachers apply for a provisional teaching certificate, at teacher's expense every 5 years must reapply for teaching certificate and obtain 6 grad credits, all at teacher's expense must repeat this process for as long as one teaches

In addition, teachers' fingerprints are submitted to FBI, State Police, and local police. Teachers who do not pass their yearly evaluations are put on an Individual Development Plan and must meet specific goals. If they do not reach these goals, they may be let go, whether they are tenured or not. However, administrators usually go around the tenure process and make the job so undesirable that teachers just quit. Administrators may make the goals impossible to reach or give undesirable teaching assignments to force teachers out. Tenure doesn't protect a teacher that the administrators don't like.

Teachers may go up respective next pay levels by taking 18 grad credits, obtaining a master's degree (roughly 39 credits), then taking an additional 12 credits. To get to the top pay level, therefore, a teacher must take about 69 grad level credits after the bachelor's degree. Otherwise, teachers receive a 1/2 % pay increase yearly, which is $1900 on base pay.

Beginning teachers in West Michigan earn approximately $38,500. However, entry level legislators in Michigan earn $79,000. They may retired after 6 years in office with FULL health insurance benefits. (Legislation pending to change this, hopefully). They are not required to have a college degree, experience in education, or a license to be a legislator. Yet they are the ones making decisions and excluding teachers from the process. What is wrong with this picture?

Education does not spur innovation, it gives students, the tools, to be able to innovate. Many of our top inventors, never finished high school or college, such as Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs, neither of which, has a college degree. Henry Ford never finished high school. Too many of our students drop out of high school, or graduate, without being able to read or speak English. Our schools have failed our kids, because of the Teacher's Union, which reward the adults and not the students. This is why more and more money is poured into the school system, but it is never enough, because bad teachers are not sent packing, without a pension. Please remember, inventors, like Alexander Graham Bell, and George Washington Carver, went to school, when there was no Department of Education, or politically structured, School Districts. Most, so called, innovations, come from the inventions of the past and have only been improved on, such as, the telephone, automobile, and many others. The major inventions over the past 100 years, have been the TV and computer. The internet is just an extension of those inventions, along with the telephone, which was invented in 1876. But students, who have their heads filled with liberal ideas, of income redistribution, and evil "big business", as well as such junk science as, global warming, are at risk of not being able to think for themselves, and becoming innovative, which requires, a desire to make a profit. NASA is about the only entity, which has achieved greatness, and spurred much innovation, in spite of the government, however, that has ended, with the Obama and liberal agenda, turning NASA into a weather monitor. Innovation comes from inspiration, not education, and our government, is just about as inspiring, as buffalo dung.